MAPPING DIGITAL MEDIA: GLOBAL FINDINGS 4

MAJOR TRENDS
1. Consumption
Digitization of broadcasting has not triggered massive changes in news consumption
patterns. Television is still watched overall as scheduled broadcasting, and is still the most
popular source of news and information. However, there has been a slight rise in on-demand
viewership.
People tend to consume the traditional media they trust, but in more convenient forms.
News consumption via social networks is rising daily.
Newspaper circulations have fallen rapidly in most countries. (Exceptions include China,
India, Brazil, and North Africa.) Yet online access to print media content has increased. The
most popular media onlineincluding the most trusted and visited news sitesbelong to
traditional outlets and carry the same information as their print editions.
2. Diversity
Digitization has not signicantly afected total news diversity. Newly established digital
terrestrial channels mainly ofer sports or entertainment. There is no case where a new
entrant has become the leading television station by audience. Also, there is no pure-player
(online only) media outlet in any country that is the most popular outlet by audience.
3. Online news
The most visited public service broadcasting website belongs to the BBC, which has invested
heavily in its online newsroom and become the only online news provider in the global top
10 that is subject to public service regulation.
News Choice
and Offer in the
Digital Transition
Mapping Digital Media is a project of the Open Society Program on
Independent Journalism and the Open Society Information Program
Te project assesses the global opportunities and risks that are created for media by the switch-
over from analog broadcasting to digital broadcasting; the growth of new media platforms as
sources of news; and the convergence of traditional broadcasting with telecommunications.
Tese changes redene the ways that media can operate sustainably while staying true to values
of pluralism and diversity, transparency and accountability, editorial independence, freedom of
expression and information, public service, and high professional standards.
Te project, which examines the changes in-depth, builds bridges between researchers and
policymakers, activists, academics and standard-setters. It also builds policy capacity in countries
where this is less developed, encouraging stakeholders to participate in and inuence change.
At the same time, this research creates a knowledge base, laying foundations for advocacy work,
building capacity and enhancing debate.
Covering 56 countries, the project examines how these changes aect the core democratic service
that any media system should providenews about political, economic and social aairs.
Te MDM Country Reports are produced by local researchers and partner organizations in
each country. Cumulatively, these reports provide a unique resource on the democratic role of
digital media. In addition to the country reports, research papers on a range of topics related to
digital media have been published as the MDM Reference Series.
Tese publications are all available at
http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/projects/mapping-digital-media.
EDI TORI AL COMMI SSI ON
Yuen-Ying Chan, Christian S. Nissen, Dusan Reljic,
Russell Southwood, Damian Tambini
The Editorial Commission is an advisory body. Its members are not responsible for the
information or assessments contained in the Mapping Digital Media texts
OPEN SOCI ETY PROGRAM ON I NDEPENDENT J OURNALI SM TEAM
Marius Dragomir, senior manager/publications editor;
Mark Thompson, policy projects ofcer; Meijinder Kaur, program coordinator;
Sameer Padania, program ofcer; Stewart Chisholm, associate director;
Gordana Jankovic, former director
OPEN SOCI ETY I NFORMATI ON PROGRAM TEAM
Vera Franz, senior program manager; Darius Cuplinskas, director
1 OS F P R OGR A M ON I NDE P E NDE NT J OUR NA L I S M 2 0 1 4
News Choice and Oer
in the Digital Transition
Jelena Surulija Milojevi
Introduction
Te move to digitization has not led automatically to a more diverse media landscape.
Content providers oer old information on new platforms. Te main benet is that
online platforms allow constant updating of content and access to this content at any
time, not only when broadcasters schedule it. In addition, digitization has allowed
more interaction with consumers in the form of user comments and easy ways of
surveying the public.
According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), more than half of
the households in the Americas, the Arab States, and Europe which received television
signals at the end of 2012 were doing so through digital technologies. (In the Arab
world, this proportion was due to the prevalence of satellite receivers.) Tis compared
with only 30 percent in 2008. However, there is a huge disproportion between the so-
called developed world, in which over 80 percent of households are digitally equipped,
and the developing world where only 42 percent of television households can receive a
digital signalwhich is, even so, almost three times more than in 2008.
1
Despite these gures, there are states such as Pakistan or those in South-East Asia where
there is no plan for digital switch-o. A new digital divide is apparent in broadcasting
between those who gain access to a healthy digital free-to-air oering of television
programs and those who are stuck with a few analog channels.
1. International Telecommunication Union, Measuring the Information Society 2013, at http://www.itu.int/en/
ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/publications/mis2013.aspx.
JULY 2014
MA P P I NG DI GI TA L ME DI A GL OB A L F I NDI NGS 2
Te cessation of print in favor of wholesale transfer online has not yet been seen in too
many countries. Te same goes for television. Although radio listenership is declining
in many countries in the MDM project, this trend has been bucked in Africa and some
Asian countries. Elsewhere, too, radio has sought and sometimes found ways to remain
via new digital platforms. Tere are only a few examples of online-only media that
have managed to build a signicant audience. Generally, people tend to consume the
traditional media they trust, but in new, more convenient, and more easily accessible
forms.
A serious digital divide has opened up between generations. While younger people
tend to rely more on new digital platforms when searching for news, older generations
still stick to traditional media, particularly terrestrial television and radio. Nevertheless,
in many countries, the number of senior users accepting digital technologies has been
increasing. Another divide that digitization has created is between urban and rural
areas, with the former having access to much poorer sources of information.
1. News Sources: Multiplication and Uniformity
Digitization has not signicantly aected the diversity of the total news oer. For
example, the digital switch-over in broadcasting has not opened the television market
to new channels. Tere is no case in the MDM countries where a new television entrant
has become the leading media outlet by audience. Also, there is no pure-player (online
only) media outlet in any country that is the most popular outlet by audience, beating
the biggest television, radio, and press outlets.
In most of the MDM countries, television remains the most popular medium by
audience size, followed by radio. However, in countries such as Kenya, radio has the
highest audience, but it is mostly accessed via new digital platforms such as cell phones,
car radio, and various mobile devices. In yet others, such as Argentina or Brazil,
although television remains the most popular medium, radio continues to have high
popularity, attracting young people who listen to radio via computer or mobile phone.
Te audience generally still relies on trusted channels, mostly public media, when it
comes to news. Also, although people in all the MDM countries have more access
to the internet now than in 2005, not many online news providers have taken the
leading role in providing news. Still, the most trusted and visited websites among news
providers belong to the traditional media. Newspaper websites usually oer regular
updates during the day, allowing users to leave comments or take part in surveys. Te
3 OS F P R OGR A M ON I NDE P E NDE NT J OUR NA L I S M 2 0 1 4
same goes for television and radio station websites. Te main benet for these stations
is that they can oer their program on demand or turn video and audio content into
text that is available at any time to consumers.
Te main change triggered by digitization is in citizens attitude to the news oer.
Citizens nowadays use several platforms to acquire news and do not wait for it to
arrive on television or radio as before. Tey are more active in obtaining news through
various channels of communication, such as PCs, cell phones, car radios, and portable
computers.
News consumption continued to account for the lowest audience share in the total
television production. Factual programming, which includes news, documentaries,
political and religious factual programming, accounted in 2012 for 21 percent of
the total consumed television output. Fiction and entertainment accounted for the
remainder. Generally, news consumption remains stable. In contrast, entertainment
saw its share go up in 2012 by 2 percentage points to 37 percent.
Digitization has also led to changes in the prole of the news audiences. Younger
generations tend to use newer platforms to access news while older generations remain
more oriented to traditional media. Tere are exceptions to this. In Estonia, people aged
over 60 with higher education are mostly oriented towards traditional media. Younger
generations in almost all the countries tend to use social media, such as Facebook and
Twitter, to obtain news and information.
1.1 Print Media
Newspaper circulations have experienced a rapid drop in most MDM countries. Tere
are exceptions such as China, India, and Brazil where newspapers are still the most
popular source for news consumption by audience. In Kenya, some newspapers such
as Te Star, launched in 2007, have continued to grow their circulation gures.
2
In contrast, there are countries with very low newspaper readership such as Pakistan,
where only 4 percent of the population reads newspapers. In a separate example,
Mexico does not have an authentic nationwide press due to the di cult geographical
coverage and socio-economic factors.
2. Interviews with editors of Te Star indicated that the newspaper was selling some 15,00020,000 copies a day in
2010 compared with 5,0008,000 when it was launched.
MA P P I NG DI GI TA L ME DI A GL OB A L F I NDI NGS 4
Te main change brought about by digitization is the migration of newspaper content
to online platforms where it has become one of the most important sources of
information, boosting press outlets presence online while draining the revenue from
print circulation.
In many countries, it is still not possible to get accurate information about newspaper
circulation. Tis is usually due to state control over newspapers or editors who want
to hide the real numbers for political or economic reasons, such as not scaring o
advertisers who might withdraw if they learned the real circulation data.
1.2 Television
Television is still the most popular source of news and information and the medium
with the highest reach in most MDM countries. In 2013, the worldwide average
television viewership time was 3 hours and 14 minutes a day, according to Eurodata
TV Worldwide. Tis was the highest viewing time for television ever recorded. Te
most avid consumers of television in 2013 were in North America where the viewing
time stood at 4 hours and 46 minutes. Tey were followed closely by Middle Eastern
populations where the daily viewing time stood in 2013 at 4 hours and 39 minutes.
Te lowest viewing time was recorded in 2013 in Asia-Pacic (2 hours and 41 minutes
a day).
However, it is questionable whether digitization has contributed to increasing the
diversity of news oering in television. Very few digital channels oer news programs.
Newly established digital terrestrial channels, especially those with higher audiences,
mainly oer sports or entertainment programs.
On the other hand, cable and free-to-air satellite stations have contributed more than
digital terrestrial television to the diversity of the news oer. In Bosnia and Herzegovina,
digitization has helped cable operators to increase the reach of local and regional
stations across the entire country. In Jordan, large swathes of audiences moved from
terrestrial to free-to-air satellite channels broadcasting news programs with regional
political analysis. Between 2005 and 2010, the penetration of these stations almost
doubled to nearly 97 percent.
Te biggest drop in cable television take-up happened in the Netherlands. Although
traditionally known as a cable country where only 1.5 percent of households were
dependent on the terrestrial signal at the time of the digital switch-o in 2006, four
years later 11.7 percent of households were using the digital terrestrial signal. Te reason
for this is that digital terrestrial reception is a much cheaper option than digital cable.
5 OS F P R OGR A M ON I NDE P E NDE NT J OUR NA L I S M 2 0 1 4
Commercial television stations and entertainment programs still command large
audiences in most MDM countries. Nevertheless, audiences in a number of countries
still prefer to access the public television service and other traditional media to acquire
news. For example, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia there is a high
degree of trust in the public service broadcasters. In Russia, 74 percent of the population
over 18 prefers television news, a poll from 2011 shows. In the United Kingdom,
television remains the most important news platform. Tere is an interesting situation
in Slovakia where polls show that the public STV news is most trusted, although the
programs ratings have fallen steadily.
1.3 Radio
In many countries outside Europe and North America, radio has burgeoned in recent
years. It is the most valuable source of news and information in Pakistan, Nigeria, and
Kenya, where people listen not only via radio sets but also via cheap mobile phones.
Latin America also maintains a healthy level of radio listenership. In Peru, radio was
the most trusted medium in 2005 and remained so until 2009, when approximately
72 percent of listeners rated radio news as good or very good. In some Latin American
countries, including Chile, radio has a high audience but oers mostly music and
entertainment shows, except during disasters, such as the earthquake in February 2010
when it played an important role in informing citizens.
Radio is also healthy in Jordan, where the industry experienced a major shift in the type
of technology used to access radio programs. Te ownership of radio sets in households
has dropped by half from 71 percent in 2005 to a bit over 34 percent in 2010. Tis
fall could be explained by new platforms that Jordanians use to access radio output: in
cars, via internet or mobile phones.
1.4 Online
Online media are still struggling for a piece of the media audiences. Te most popular
media online are still the websites of traditional outlets that oer the same information
as in their print edition along with user-generated content such as comments, popular
blogs, and surveys.
Te most visited public service broadcasting website in the world belongs to the BBC,
which has invested heavily in its online newsroom and become the only online news
provider in the top 10 in the world that is subject to public service regulation.
Te number of countries that have experienced growth in news consumption via social
networks is rising daily. It especially applies to the younger generation who simply click
MA P P I NG DI GI TA L ME DI A GL OB A L F I NDI NGS 6
to links that either media post on social networks (with Facebook and Twitter as the
most popular) or follow the news recommended by their friends on these networks.
Social networks have played an important role in recent events throughout the world.
Facebook was used in Egypt and Tunisia during the 2010 Arab Spring, often to
give an accurate picture of real developments on the street in contrast to news from
traditional media. Japan is also a good example of a country with a signicant use
of social network services. For example, the number of Twitter users in Japan had
increased three times in only six months from 2.57 million in September 2009 to
7.52 million in March 2010. However, social networking has not been used massively
for digital activism. Countries with high levels of digital activism include the United
Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Latvia in Europe, Canada and the United States in
North America, Brazil in Latin America, and China in Asia.
2. Public Service Goes Digital
Digitization seems to have made life for public service broadcasters more di cult,
because they now have to compete with more commercial channels and often they have
lost audience share. Tey also have to share increasing proportions of their advertising
revenue with commercial operators.
In some countries, mostly within the European Union, public service broadcasters have
launched new thematic digital terrestrial channels and increased their reach by oering
their content online. Specialized channels launched by public service broadcasters are
usually reserved for sports, entertainment, childrens programs, and in some countries
including Slovenia, Hungary, Macedonia, and Turkeyalso for parliamentary sessions.
In Poland, PTV Parliament was planned to be launched 2009, but then suspended for
lack of funds. In the United Kingdom, the running of the BBC Parliament channel is
outsourced, with the BBC providing journalistic and editorial support.
An example of a successful venture into digital business is France Tlvisions website,
praised for being well structured and oering the entire broadcast output by channel or
type of program. Te website oers written content, pictures, and video-streaming of
the networks programs. It also allows viewers to get involved in forums and discussions
about programs, leave comments, or visit blogs about various programs. In addition,
the website has accounts on social networks in a move to attract younger audiences.
It also oers Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds and applications for cell phones.
Online live-streaming was introduced in 2012.
7 OS F P R OGR A M ON I NDE P E NDE NT J OUR NA L I S M 2 0 1 4
Te second positive example of the successful launch of a good-quality news operation
by a public service broadcaster is Spains RTVE. Teir recipe is to bring experienced
digital editors from commercial media to lead the website from more or less an online
program schedule to a full online television and radio programming portal, oering
streaming and podcasts as well as a comprehensive digital archive. In addition, the
RTVE hosts several online communities, boasts the largest number of blogs a media
outlet has in Europe, and has many Facebook and Twitter accounts and proles.
Finally, it also runs a channel on YouTube and La Villa (the rst sports social network
in Spain) and oers applications for Google Android, Apples iPhone, and Sonys Play
Station. Te achievements of the website were a total average visitor time of 37 minutes
a day and second position among top broadcast internet portals with over 11.1 million
unique visitors in June 2012.
Table 1.
New services launched by public service broadcasters during digital migration
Country Outlet Service Quality Relevance Popularity
Armenia TV and radio Website n/a n/a Low
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
TV and radio Websites Low Low Low
TV Website Decent Low Low
Bulgaria TV and radio Website n/a High n/a
Canada TV and radio Websites High High High
Chile TV Digital satellite operations n/a n/a High
China TV Video website High High High
Radio Digital channels n/a n/a n/a
Colombia TV and radio Website High High n/a
Croatia TV and radio Website/new channels (2012) High High High
Czech
Republic
TV and radio Website/new channels High High High
Egypt Not applicable
Estonia TV and radio New programs (children)/
Website
High High High
Finland TV and radio Web-TV service High High High
France TV and radio Websites High High High
Georgia TV Website Low Low Low
Germany TV and radio Website (streaming) High High High*
India TV DTH channels, HD broadcasts
(tests), mobile broadcast
services (pilot)
Decent Decent Low
TV Websites Low Low Low
Japan TV HDTV High High High
TV Mobile broadcasting High High High
MA P P I NG DI GI TA L ME DI A GL OB A L F I NDI NGS 8
Country Outlet Service Quality Relevance Popularity
Jordan TV Websites n/a n/a n/a
Kazakhstan TV Website Varies from outlet to outlet
(there are numerous
state-owned TV outlets)
TV and radio Website Low Low Low
Lithuania TV and radio Integrated portal n/a High High
Macedonia TV and radio Website High High n/a
Moldova TV and radio Websites Low Low Low
Montenegro TV and radio Integrated portal High Decent Decent
Morocco TV Website High n/a n/a
Radio Website High n/a n/a
Netherlands TV On-Demand service High High n/a
TV Thematic channels n/a n/a n/a
Radio Studio web stream High High n/a
TV and radio Networked websites High High n/a
Peru TV and radio Websites Low Low Low
Poland TV New channels High Decent Decent
Romania TV, radio Website Low Low n/a
DTH, HD
channels
Website Low Low n/a
Serbia TV Website Decent Decent n/a
Singapore TV Website High High Moderate
to High
New channels High High Moderate
to High
Slovakia TV and radio Websites Low Low Low
TV New channel Closed after a short time
Slovenia TV and radio Website n/a High High
South Africa TV and radio Websites High n/a n/a
Spain TV and radio Websites High High High
Sweden TV Website High High High
Radio Website High High High
Thailand None
Tunisia
Turkey TV and radio Websites n/a High n/a
United
Kingdom
TV Additional channels High High Decent
TV Website High High n/a
United States None
Uruguay TV Digital channels n/a High n/a
Notes: n/a not assessed or no information available; * based on more recent data from ZDF
Source: Mapping Digital Media report
9 OS F P R OGR A M ON I NDE P E NDE NT J OUR NA L I S M 2 0 1 4
3. Consumer Migrations
3.1 Europe and North America
In most European countries, television remains the most accessed news platform
and the main source of information. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, 98 percent of the
population watches television on a regular basis and television is considered the most
credible news provider. Macedonia ranks second in the world in terms of average
time spent watching television. Even the young generation still relies on television
news as a main source of information, as a poll in Latvia shows, although they prefer
multitasking between digital platforms.
Television is still watched overall as scheduled broadcasting. However, there has been
a slight rise in on-demand viewership. Digitization of broadcasting has not triggered
any massive changes in news consumption patterns. Te shifts have been linked to
technology and platforms. Newly licensed digital channels have not signicantly
changed the viewership markets anywhere, although in some countries they have slowly
eaten into the audience shares of established broadcasters. In France, for example, new
digital television channels gained 5 percent of the total combined audience while analog
channels lost viewers. In countries where the digital switch-o has not happened or has
occurred only recently, there have been no changes in the news consumption audiences.
Regarding newspapers, the main change is linked to how news is consumed. Although
newspaper circulations have dropped in almost all European countries, access to online
content of print media has increased and the content from print media remains an
important source of information for news websites. Most of the newspapers online
platforms introduced additional features from the print edition such as regular news
updates, comments, opinion surveys, RSS feeds, videos, audio content, and links
to news content from other sources. Generally, newspapers in many countries have
reached a much bigger readership online than in hard copy.
Exceptions to this include the Czech Republic, where 72 percent of the population
still read newspapers regularly and this has been the same for a long time. In parallel
with this, the most popular internet news providers in the Czech Republic are run by
television channels: three-quarters of all internet users in the country follow television
news on the internet at least once a day.
Radio listenership has dropped enormously in most European countries. Radio has
apparently ceased to be a news provider, and is now an entertainment and music
MA P P I NG DI GI TA L ME DI A GL OB A L F I NDI NGS 1 0
medium. Many radio stations across the continent launched internet streaming in a
move to survive competition from web-based radio services.
Access to news on the internet is mostly free. For young generations, visiting news
portals through links on social media (chiey via Facebook) has become the most
popular way to acquire news. Older people who surf the internet prefer traditional
media content on websites.
In the United States, it is hard if not impossible to nd a television station with neutral
political views. Te audience has also become politically homogeneous; for example,
Fox News is viewed primarily by Republicans while Democrats watch Current. Te
most dramatic change on the American news landscape involves the newspapers,
however; their audience fell by more than 30 percent between 2003 and 2009. Te
most diverse television oer comes from cable operators who include in their basic
packages at least six domestic 24-hour news channels, while there are many more
available from abroad. While ethnic minorities in the United States have grown in size,
the number of television stations catering to them has dropped.
3.2 Northern Africa
Although television is still the most inuential medium in northern Africa (93 percent
of the population in Egypt watches television), online media use has grown signicantly
in these countries since the Arab Spring in 2011. Television remains the main source
of news and information, also because of low internet penetration and high illiteracy.
However, in broadband-connected households, the internet takes people away from
television, especially in primetime (after 9 p.m.).
Contrary to European trends, newspaper circulation has been rising steadily in this part
of the world. In Egypt, it was expected to reach 4.686 million copies in 2013, up from
3.627 million in 2007. Newspapers remain a principal source of news consumption in
these countries, although younger people tend to read newspapers online. In Morocco,
new digital platforms are used by media outlets only for audio- and video-streaming
while other opportunities created by the internet, such as comments, sharing content
via social networks, blogs, and other forms of user-generated content are not oered at
all. Northern Africa demonstrates a signicant digital divide between urban and rural
areas as rural populations lack access to the internet or are not internet-literate.
1 1 OS F P R OGR A M ON I NDE P E NDE NT J OUR NA L I S M 2 0 1 4
3.3 Sub-Saharan Africa
Despite major developments in the media sector, radio remains the main source of
news and information in many sub-Saharan African countries. For Kenyans, radio is
the main source of news, followed by television. Te same is true in Nigeria. Radio sets
are cheap, which is a major trigger for the high radio listenership. Even the remotest
rural areas are covered by radio signals. Also, even the cheapest mobile phones in Africa
allow access to radio programs, making this device a perfect choice for young people.
As a result, the number of national and local radio stations has soared in the last 20
years. It is worth noting that the web radio most listened to in Nigeria is foreign: the
BBC in the local language.
An exception that stands out is South Africa. Although radio has the most stable
audience in South Africa, television has shown the highest growth in consumption
over the past ve years, followed by the internet: online tra c has doubled during
the period. Newspapers have been stable, showing only a mild increase in readership.
Digital satellite has also shown a signicant growth, doubling its number of viewers
during the past ve years, although this was from a much lower base.
Newspaper readership is extremely low. Te reason is poverty. In Nigeria, more than
50 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and cannot aord to buy
newspapers. In the last few years, however, mobile phones have started to challenge radio,
especially in urban areas where people can access the internet regardless of their location.
Te embrace of mobile platforms has not had an impact on news quality. As in Europe,
the change triggered by digitization has been more technical (involving devices and
platforms) than substantive. Te news oer on mobile phones replicates that in
traditional media.
In countries where traditional media are still controlled by the government or by
powerful families, their owners try to extend their control on the internet as well by
ltering or blocking websites.
3.4 Former Soviet Union
Television remains the main medium for news consumption in Armenia, Kazakhstan,
and Georgia. A poll from 2011 showed that 90 percent of Armenian citizens receive
news from television, and only 7 percent from the internet, 2 percent from radio, and
1 percent from newspapers. Some 36 percent of internet users accessed the internet
for reading news. Similarly, in Georgia only 2 percent of the population named
MA P P I NG DI GI TA L ME DI A GL OB A L F I NDI NGS 1 2
newspapers or magazines as their main source of news, and only 1 percent listened to
the radio for news.
Use of the internet for news consumption in Georgia rose from 3 percent to 5 percent
of the total preferences for news platform from 2007 to 2009. Traditional media,
although they have static news online platforms, have gained more audience by inviting
prominent experts to blog on their websites or by sharing news via social networks.
However, internet penetration is still low in the former Soviet Union and it remains
reserved for those living in urban areas. Although it emerged as an alternative source
of news, the internet has faced numerous challenges in this region as governments
increasingly clamped down on critical voices online. In Kazakhstan, the government
closed several critical print and broadcast media in 2012. A number of critical websites
are also blocked, ltered, or denied service. Cable television is used on a large scale in
the region to access news from abroad, mainly from Russia.
3.5 Middle East
In Lebanon and Jordan, television remains the main source of news and information.
In Lebanon, international news satellite programs do not feature among the preferred
top 10 channels; citizens still prefer local channels. Interestingly, there is a very popular
new digital service in Lebanon that was established as a response to the unstable
security situation in the country. Almost all media (online, radio, television) deliver
breaking news via text messages for a US$10 monthly subscription fee. In Jordan, the
household ownership of radio sets fell by half as a result of new ways of accessing radio
programs, chiey in cars, via mobile phones, or the internet.
Te quality of news has not seen major improvements. Te media scene in Lebanon,
for example, is polarized; most media outlets are supported by a political party or
support a political agenda. It can be argued that this situation ensures media pluralism
because of the variety of opinions on the political communication market. Tis trend
is valid for both traditional and new online media. Online readership of print media
exceeds hard copy readership in Lebanon.
3.6 Asia
Asian trends in media consumption vary broadly from region to region and even
country to country. In China, the broadcasting system is decentralized and falls into four
categories, in line with the Four-level development policy for broadcasting industry
introduced in the 1980s: central, regional, municipal, and local. Tat resulted in more
1 3 OS F P R OGR A M ON I NDE P E NDE NT J OUR NA L I S M 2 0 1 4
than 3,000 television stations that operate in China. CCTV is the dominant broadcaster
on the news market, under strict government control. It has defended its leading position
in terms of audience despite competition from satellite operators. Its dominance has,
however, declined: its audience share fell from 22.9 percent in 2005 to 13.3 percent in
2009. Radio airs mostly music and tra c news, rather than news bulletins as such.
On the other hand, China has been the leading market in the world by newspaper
circulation for 10 consecutive years. All print media are state-owned. Tere are two
types of management: o cial papers are managed by local party committees and
recipients of government subsidies, while city papers are founded by o cial papers
but have a more market- and consumer-oriented approach. Tey also publish occasional
investigative reports, giving them a distinctive character compared with o cial papers.
Although both television and print media remain the main source of news in China,
specialized news websites are eroding their dominance. News websites can be grouped
into commercial portals and websites of traditional media. Internet portals have also
given harbor to a range of human rights activists, advocates, and whistle-blowers. Japan
joins China among the countries with high circulations of newspapers and magazines.
In India, the main factor in shaping news consumption patterns is the dispersion
of languages across media platforms. Te country has a variety of both state-owned
and commercial media outlets. However, it is notable that the interest in news on
political issues in Hindu and English fell from 23.1 percent to 10.9 percent in only
three years, from 2005 to 2007. In contrast, the interest in non-factual content such
as sports and entertainment grew from 27.9 percent to 53.1 percent in the same
period. In 2010, the English television channels devoted more than 50 percent of
their news output to crime and sports combined, followed by political/government
(19.1 percent) and entertainment news (12.6 percent). On the other hand, crime, law,
and order (26 percent) dominate on leading Hindi television channels, while sport
news, entertainment news, and political or government news almost have the same
proportion of news themes (16 percent, 14 percent, and 13 percent respectively).
Television and radio are still the main sources of news in Malaysia, Singapore, and
Tailand. In Malaysia, paid satellite television increased its penetration from 24.9
percent to 40.1 percent between 2006 and 2012, while free-to-air television penetration
dropped from 75.1 percent to 59.9 percent over the same period. In addition, there has
been a greater news oer on satellite, including local all-news channels, sport channels,
and international news channels. In Tailand too, consumers have been abandoning
terrestrial television for satellite and cable.
MA P P I NG DI GI TA L ME DI A GL OB A L F I NDI NGS 1 4
Radio holds a steady position in South-East Asia, reaching more than 90 percent of the
population in Malaysia and Singapore. However, Malaysian teenagers have lost interest
in radio over recent years as a result of the growing entertainment oer and the lack of
radio stations which target their age group.
As print media in Malaysia require prior permission to operate and are mainly
established by the ruling parties, the internet has become an alternative source for news
and information that cover issues not addressed by traditional media.
For Malaysians, social networks have become a source of news as well as of user-
generated content. Much of the content on these networks claries or contradicts
the o cial news in traditional media. In Tailand, Twitter is a favored platform and
has become widely used by politicians for communicating with citizens as well as for
spreading news.
In Pakistan, radio represents the main source of information for rural areas and
undeveloped provinces. Te reason is that almost half the population has limited access
to news from the state-owned PTV broadcaster that airs terrestrially. On the other
hand, citizens of major towns benet from the massive growth of cable and satellite
television in urban areas over the past ve years. Tis has helped to increase diversity
in the news oer by allowing access to local and foreign news programs, not interfered
with by the state.
Interestingly, news content on the radio is strictly regulated and local radio stations are
not allowed to broadcast news of their choice according to the law, but can rebroadcast
news bulletins produced by the state-owned Radio Pakistan and the BBC Urdu Service.
Tey are also allowed to broadcast local news programs such as weather forecasts and
tra c news. Print media in Pakistan reached only 4 percent of the population in 2008,
which was one of the lowest newspaper reaches in the MDM project. However, print
media companies in Pakistan are optimistic, seeing massive potential in the growth of
this sector. By 2010, some 25 percent of the population said that they were newspaper
readers, according to a survey by InterMedia.
3.7 Latin America
Traditional television and radio programs are still the main source of information in
most of Latin America. Nearly 97 percent of Brazilians watched television frequently
in 2010. Of those, 83.5 percent watched free-to-air television. Radio retains a steady
second place in preferred platforms; in 2010, over 80 percent of Brazilians listened
to radio.
1 5 OS F P R OGR A M ON I NDE P E NDE NT J OUR NA L I S M 2 0 1 4
In Colombia too, television is dominant. News was the second-most popular use of
television in 2010 with 86.3 percent, just behind entertainment, up by 5 percentage
points from 2005. Colombia has a very low internet penetration. Internet subscription
in Colombia and Peru stood at 10 percent of the population in 2011.
Low internet penetration is a main reason why traditional media hang on to their
dominant position in the news market. Most online news portals are versions of
traditional media: newspapers, television channels, and radio stations.
As a consequence of the increase in pay-TV in Colombia, the international channels
have gained audience, growing from 41.8 percent in 2005 to 55.8 percent in 2010.
International channels are rapidly fueling the expansion of news sources, at least in
television, although news channels are not the most viewed cable channels.
Despite these developments, terrestrial television has an undisputed dominance
in Latin America. In Guatemala, the primary source for news is still television (46
percent), followed by radio (28.1 percent), newspapers (16.2 percent), cable television
(6.7 percent), and the internet (with less than 3 percent). Most people watch news
in Guatemala on free-to-air television on a daily basis. Nevertheless, urban dwellers,
younger people, and the middle class increasingly consume news on digital media,
and this growth is somewhat spurred by the increase of mobile services. Interestingly,
the number of internet cafs in rural areas has increased in Guatemala, but this was
prompted by the need to communicate with friends and relatives who live in the
United States and neighboring countries rather than the need for news content.
Terrestrial free-to-air television is still the most dominant news source in Mexico as
well, despite a slight fall from 77 percent in penetration in 2005 to 70 percent in 2009.
On this platform, public service television reaches only 47 percent of all households,
much less than private broadcasters that reach 98 percent of households. Regarding
technologies, only 13.6 percent of television households had a digital set, of which
only 46.6 percent (6 percent of the total population) could receive digital television
free-to-air programs.
In the Peruvian capital city of Lima, free-to-air television was the main news source
for 94 percent of citizens in 2009. It was followed by print media (82 percent),
radio (72 percent), and the internet (47 percent). Despite its third position in media
consumption, radio was the most trusted medium for news, followed by the internet
and television, with newspapers trusted least. User-generated content has had a notable
impact on shaping regular news, with consumers using mobile platforms on a large
MA P P I NG DI GI TA L ME DI A GL OB A L F I NDI NGS 1 6
scale to contribute to the news oer by, for example, sending self-produced videos to
traditional media. Bloggers in Peru have also contributed to boosting the diversity of
the media oer and have become an alternative source of news, revealing corruption or
criminal cases. Surveys indicate that 57 percent of internet users in Lima visited blogs
in 2010.
Overall, despite the dominance of television in Latin America, the internet has risen
slowly but steadily in the preferences for news sources. Te speed of this growth
apparently reects the low internet penetration. In Mexico, for example, internet users
make the internet their main source of news as soon as they start using this technology.
Mobile phones are also used increasingly for news consumption in Mexico, another
indication of the popular appetite for new platforms to access news.
2014 Open Society Foundations
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MAPPING DIGITAL MEDIA
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1 Public Interest and Commercial Media: Digital Trends Carlos Corts
2 Public Media and Digitization: Seven Theses Damian Tambini
3 Journalism and Digital Times: Between Wider Reach and Sloppy Reporting Ying Chan
4 News Choice and Ofer in the Digital Transition Jelena Surulija Milojevi
5 Telecoms and News Iulian Comanescu
6 Access to Spectrum: Winners and Losers Marko Milosavljevi and Tanja Kerevan
Smokvina
7 Distributing the Digital Dividend Christian S. Nissen
8 Business and Ownership of the Media in Digital Times Martijn de Waal
9 Digital Media in the European Union Justin Schlosberg
10 Digital Media in the EU Enlargement Countries Justin Schlosberg
11 Digital Media in the Former Soviet Union Rita Rudua
12 Digital Media in Latin America Fernando Bermejo
13 Digital Media in South-East Asia Graham Watts
14 Digital Media in Asia: India and Pakistan Graham Watts
15 Digital Media in the Arab World Aboubakr Jama
16 Digital Media in Africa: Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa Russell Southwood
JULY 2014